Columbia University Courses

New York, New York, United States

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Biomedical Engineering

The Master of Science program in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BME) provides world-class education with opportunities for innovation and research. The department also has a partnership with the Columbia University Medical Center for interdisciplinary collaborations.Apart from Masters, the department also offers undergraduate and Ph.D. programs.

Applications for admissions are taken online. Applicants need to submit official transcript copies from every post-secondary institution attended, three recommendation letters, the GRE General Test Scores, Language test score, a Personal Statement, and the resumé or Curriculum Vitae. Please note that an interview may be requested.

Areas of Expertise: Biomechanics; Biosignals and Biomedical Imaging; Cell and Tissue Engineering

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Chemical

The Chemical Engineering Master of Science (MS) program offered by the Chemical Engineering department ensures that the students study the newest and most important chemical engineering topics in depth. The department offers MS with a Concentration in Biotechnology and Biopharmaceuticals. Applicants must have B-average or better in a science or engineering undergraduate curriculum.

All MS applicants are expected to have completed General Chemistry I and II, Calculus I, Calculus II, Calculus III (multivariable calculus), and an Ordinary Differential Equations Course. Applicants who have undergraduate degrees in chemistry, polymer science, physics, materials science, or any engineering discipline can also apply, but they should keep the minimum 16 years clause of US universities in mind.

This program connects students with developments in biotechnology and biopharmaceuticals with a focus on engineering applications and approaches. In addition, it also offers an MS with a Concentration in Electrochemical Energy. The concentration provides students with an understanding of the fundamentals and technologies associated with batteries and fuel cells. In addition to the Master programs, the department also offers BS and PhD programs.

Areas of Expertise:

  • list items Biophysics and Soft Matter Physics
  • list items Polymers and Soft Materials
  • list items Bioinductive and Biomimetic Materials
  • list items Chemical Engineering
  • list items Genomic Engineering
  • list items Interfacial Engineering and Electrochemistry

List of labs: Industry/University Cooperative Research Center for Advanced Studies in Novel Surfactants

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Civil and Engineering Mechanics

The Department of Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics offers BS, Master of Science (MS) in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, EngScD (Doctor of Engineering Science), and PhD program. 

The MS program includes concentrations in:

  • list items construction engineering and management
  • list items engineering mechanics
  • list items environmental engineering and water resources
  • list items forensic (structural) engineering
  • list items geotechnical engineering, 
  • list items structural engineering, or combinations of these areas.

An MS applicant without any undergraduate course in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics will need to take certain undergraduate courses before proceeding to graduate studies.

Applications are accepted online. Applicants need to submit official transcript copies from every post-secondary institution attended, three recommendation letters, language test scores, the GRE General Test Scores, a Personal statement and the resumé or Curriculum Vitae. Please note that an interview may be requested.

Areas  of Expertise:

  • list items Environmental Engineering and Water Resources
  • list items Civil Engineering
  • list items Construction Engineering and Management
  • list items Engineering Mechanics
  • list items Geotechnical Engineering
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Computer Science

The program is intended for students looking forward to deepening their understanding of computer science.

The department currently offers concentration tracks covering eight disciplines -

  • list items Computational Biology
  • list items Computer Security
  • list items Foundations of Computer Science
  • list items Machine Learning
  • list items Natural Language Processing
  • list items Network Systems
  • list items Software Systems
  • list items Vision
  • list items Graphics
  • list items Interaction
  • list items Robotics
  • list items MS Personalized
  • list items MS Thesis.

The department offers the following undergraduate courses -

  • list items BS in Computer Science
  • list items Computer Engineering
  • list items BA in Computer Science
  • list items BA in Computer Science and Mathematics
  • list items BA in Data Science 
  • list items BA in Information Science.

The Master programs offered are MS in Computer Science, MS in Computer Engineering, Dual MS in Journalism and Computer Science. The department also offers Ph.D. and EngScd (Doctor of Engineering Science) programs for different fields.

Applications are taken online. Applicants need to submit official transcript copies from every post-secondary institution attended, Three recommendation letters, Language test scores, the GRE General Test Scores, a Personal Statement, and the resumé or Curriculum Vitae. Please note that an interview may be requested.

Areas of Expertise:

  • list items Software Testing
  • list items Wireless Networks and Network Security
  • list items Embedded & Reconfigurable Systems
  • list items Graphics; Networking & Distributed Systems
  • list items Digital Image Processing & Computer Vision
  • list items Software Process
  • list items High Performance Computing
  • list items Digital Integrated Circuit Design
  • list items Artificial Intelligence & Security
  • list items Computer Architecture
  • list items Software Engineering Pedagogy
  • list items Pervasive and Mobile Computing
  • list items Vision/Pattern Recognition
  • list items Signal Processing & Control
  • list items Empirical Software Engineering
  • list items Software Design
  • list items User-centered Software Design
  • list items Theory
  • list items Data Management/Data Mining
  • list items Programming Languages & Tools
  • list items Secure Software

List of labs: Data Science Institute

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Electrical

The Electrical Engineering program allows students to pursue the discipline in depth. Students can study topics like physical devices, circuits and systems, communications and networking, signal, information and data processing, computer engineering, smart electric energy, and systems biology or neuroengineering. The programs offered are Bachelor of Science, integrated BS/MS program, MS Electrical Engineering honors, MS and Ph.D.

The concentrations for MS will be from amongst:

  • list items Data-Driven Analysis and Computation
  • list items Networking
  • list items Wireless and Mobile Communications
  • list items Integrated Circuits and Systems
  • list items Smart Electric Energy
  • list items Systems Biology and Neuroengineering
  • list items Lightwave (Photonics) Engineering
  • list items Microelectronic Devices.

Applicants need to submit official transcript copies from every post-secondary institution attended three recommendation letters, the GRE General Test Scores, a Personal Statement, and the resumé or Curriculum Vitae. Please note that an interview may be requested.

Areas of Expertise:

  • list items Power Systems
  • list items Control Systems and Robotics
  • list items Signal & Image Processing
  • list items Microelectromechanical Sensors & Systems
  • list items Digital Systems
  • list items Integrated Circuit Fabrication
  • list items Communications
  • list items Subquarter-micron Lithography
  • list items Integrated Electronics
  • list items Biomedical Systems
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Earth and Environmental Engineering

The department offers a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth and Environmental Engineering (B.S.-EEE); a 3-2 Combined Plan B.A./B.S; a 4-2 program bachelor's degree at an affiliated liberal arts college; a two-year engineering program leading to a master's degree; an MS in Earth Resources Engineering (MS-ERE) with concentrations in Water Resources and Climate Risks, Sustainable Energy, Sustainable Waste Management; and PhD/Eng.Sc.D.

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Industrial Engineering

The Department of Industrial Engineering and Operations Research offers Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering; Operations Research; Operations Research: Analytics; Operations Research: Engineering Management Systems; Operations Research: Financial Engineering.
MS programs are offered in five core disciplines: MS in 

1. Financial Engineering: It is a multidisciplinary field involving financial theory, engineering methods, mathematical tools, and programming. It involves full-time training in the application of engineering methodologies and quantitative methods in finance.

2. Business Analytics: Columbia Engineering and Columbia Business Schools offer a full-time Master of Science in Business Analytics degree with a three-semester curriculum including modeling techniques and data science tools which help businesses to use data and make better decisions. A key element is a capstone project that provides an intense consulting engagement with clients and their real-world business problems using real data sets.

3. Operations Research: The Master of Science in Operations Research (MSOR) ensures that students can focus on areas such as mathematical programming, stochastic models, and simulation through domain-specific courses in logistics, supply chain management, revenue management, financial engineering, risk management, entrepreneurship, and general management.

4. Industrial Engineering: The Master of Science in Industrial Engineering is for students with an undergraduate engineering degree. The focus is on special fields such as scheduling, production planning, inventory control, and industrial economics. The MSIE Program offers three specialized concentrations:

  • list items Healthcare Management: Focuses on applying the methodology of operations research and industrial engineering to healthcare systems.
  • list items Regulated Industries: For students with an undergraduate engineering degree with a focus on industrial engineering problems in regulated industries.
  • list items Systems Engineering Provides a holistic view of engineering and focuses on how complex engineering projects should be designed and managed.

5. Master of Science in Management Science and Engineering degree (36 credit degree program is offered in four concentrations; Operations & Analytics, Pricing & Revenue Management, Entrepreneurship & Innovations, and Logistics & Supply Chain Management. 

Applications are taken online. Applicants need to submit official transcript copies from every post-secondary institution attended Three recommendation letters, the GRE General Test Scores, a Personal Statement, and the resumé or Curriculum Vitae. Please note that an interview may be requested.

Areas of Expertise:

  • list items Lean Production Systems
  • list items 3d Printing / Additive Manufacturing; Ergonomics/Human Factors/Safety Engr
  • list items Data Mining/Data Analytics
  • list items Operations Research/Simulation/Logistics
  • list items Systems Engineering
  • list items Engineering Design
  • list items Applied Statistics / Experimental Design
  • list items Manufacturing Engineering
  • list items Sustainable Engineering

List of labs: Additive Manufacturing and Multi-Functional Printing (AMPrint) Center

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Mechanical

The Master of Science program offered by The Department of Mechanical Engineering provides an opportunity through which students can enrich their knowledge in the latest and most important topics in mechanical engineering. Students can choose courses from several suggested specialized elective concentrations, including Biomechanics, Energy Systems, Micro/Nanoscale Engineering, and Robotics and Control.

The MechTech Laboratory provides an opportunity to students for hands-on experience with microcomputer-embedded control of electromechanical systems. Facilities for the construction and testing of analog and digital electronic circuits aid the students in learning the basic components of the microcomputer architecture. 

M.S. in Mechanical Engineering with an Elective Concentration in Biomechanics provides foundations of fluid and solid mechanics applicable to biomechanics, as well as applications of mechanics to a specific cell, tissue and organ systems. The higher-level courses provide deeper foundations on theoretical and computational approaches relevant to biomechanics. 

The currently available concentrations are listed below:

  • list items Biomechanics: This elective concentration provides foundations of fluid and solid mechanics applicable to biomechanics, as well as applications of mechanics to a specific cell, tissue and organ systems.
  • list items Energy Systems: The program provides advanced thermofluidic knowledge and is related to energy and environmental policy. This elective concentration helps students prepare for careers in energy production and energy consultation.
  • list items Micro/Nanoscale Engineering: The program prepares students for careers in diverse and rapidly expanding areas that span energy harvesting, ultrafast information processing, biometrics and theranostics.
  • list items Robotics and Control: This elective concentration prepares students to join established companies, information-age dominant players investing heavily in this field, or the new wave of Robotics start-ups aiming to provide disruptive innovations.

Areas of Expertise:

  • list items Healthcare Systems
  • list items Microsystems
  • list items Gear Design
  • list items Thermo-fluid Systems
  • list items Systems And Controls
  • list items Energy Systems
  • list items Transportation Systems
  • list items Nanofluids

List of labs: Fuel Cell/Micro Channel Research

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Pure Sciences

The Department of Chemistry at Columbia University offers the following programs:

  • list items Physical and Theoretical Chemistry
  • list items Organic Chemistry
  • list items Inorganic Chemistry
  • list items Biological Chemistry
  • list items Materials Chemistry.

The Department of Physics has about 35 faculty who teach and carry out research in the fields of astrophysics, condensed matter physics, high energy nuclear physics, high energy particle physics, and atomic, molecular, and optical physics.The Mathematics Department offers courses in mathematics at all levels through various degree programs at Barnard College.

The core mathematics subjects in the graduate course are the following:

  • list items Analysis and Probability
  • list items Modern Geometry
  • list items Lie Groups
  • list items Representation
  • list items Algebraic Topology
  • list items Complex Analysis,
  • list items Riemann Surfaces
  • list items Algebraic Geometry
  • list items Number Theory.

Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics only offer doctoral programs and no separate masters degree.

The Mathematics department offers a Master of Arts program in Mathematics with a specialization in Mathematics of Finance (MAFN). It draws on the diverse strengths of the university in mathematics, statistics, stochastic processes, numerical methods, and financial applications.

The M.S. Program in Applied Physics lays emphasis on basic physics while allowing many options in applied physics specialties. Students usually take it as an additional course beyond the bachelor’s level, or as a stepping stone to doctoral studies in the applied physics fields of plasma physics, laser physics, or solid-state physics. The M.S. Program in Applied Mathematics leads to a Master of Science degree after the students complete five core courses and five electives.

The CAMPEP-Accredited Medical Physics M.S. Program ensures students are prepared for professional careers in the field of Medical Physics. The program covers the application of the concepts and methods of physics to the diagnosis and treatment of human disease.

Specializations covered include:

  • list items Radiation Therapy
  • list items  Diagnostic Radiology
  • list items  Nuclear Medicine
  • list items  Medical Health

List of Labs: NanoPower Research Lab

Is the subway easily accessible?
 

Columbia is conveniently placed near the #1 subway line and a number of bus routes. Students can take the #1 train to Times Square in around 20 minutes, uptown to Columbia's Medical Center in 15 minutes, and to Columbia's Baker Field Athletic Complex on Manhattan's northern edge in 25 minutes.

Is it possible for me to work while I study here?
 

Yes, all Columbia University students are permitted to work while attending classes. Although overseas students are allowed to apply for both on-campus and off-campus jobs, they must follow specific guidelines.

What is Columbia Uni famous for?
 

The "Core Curriculum," which exposes students to a wide range of concepts in the subjects of art, literature, philosophy, history, music, and science, is at the heart of Columbia academics. Core classes are renowned for small class sizes (22 students per class), which enable students to develop great relationships with faculty.

Is Columbia hard to get into?
 

With a 3.73% acceptance rate for the class of 2026, Columbia is this year's second-most challenging school to get into. The undergraduate admissions process at Columbia is holistic, considering each applicant's individual experiences, background, and academic accomplishments.

How to get into Columbia University?
 

If you want to attend Columbia, you must achieve one of the following: Write appealing essays, score highly on your standardized admission test, and engage in extracurricular activities that highlight your skills and attributes in addition to doing well in nearly all of your high school classes.

What is the difference between Columbia University and Columbia College?
 

The original undergraduate liberal arts college of Columbia, Columbia College was established as King's College in 1754, marking the beginning of Columbia University. The undergraduate institution continued to be known as Columbia College even after Columbia College in the City of New York was renamed Columbia University in the City of New York in 1896.

What SAT score is required for Columbia?
 

The acceptance rate at the very competitive Columbia University is just about 5% which means only 5 out of 100 applicants are admitted. Applicants to Columbia University must have an ACT score of 34 to 35 or an SAT score between 1440 and 1570.

 
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